First Austin custodian, George Mercado was born in Lockhart, Texas and grew up in the San Marcos/Kyle area. His father was a farmer and George vividly remembers picking cotton by hand and driving the tractor. There were six children in his family, three boys and three girls. George quit school in the 6th grade to help his father work the land. One of his favorite childhood memories happened when he was fourteen years old. That day they were chopping cotton in Turkey, Texas. His father told him to c’mon he was going to teach him to drive the 1950 Ford five-speed truck. “I can’t drive that!” George said, but he did and it was so much fun, it’s a time with his father he’ll never forget.
As a young adult, George went to work for a service station in San Marcos where he pumped gas, fixed flats and helped in the convenience store. This path would eventually lead him to meeting Jack Davis, the former First Austin building manager. At the time, Jack owned a service station in South Austin. George worked for him over twelve years before Jack changed careers and brought George to work at First Austin with him. George recalls that the station closed on May 12th and he came to work at the church three days later on May 15th.
Five months ago George re-married. He met his new wife Rosa Maria through a woman who came to First Austin seeking assistance. When the church was unable to help, George followed her to see if he could be of assistance. He wound up collecting items that she needed, something that George has done many times for many others.
All told, George has five children, nine stepchildren, twenty-one grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. When he has time for a break, he enjoys watching the news, Telemundo and the Discovery Channel. He likes getting into a set routine and finds that his custodial work at First Austin lends itself well to that. George is an easygoing, friendly person who says of himself, “I enjoy my life and what I’m doing.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment